WinShare “Virus” Removal 

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Welcome to our WinShare “Virus” removal guide. The following instructions will aid you in removing the unwanted software from your PC.

The versions of the so-called ad-producing software (Adware) are becoming more and more popular as times passes. Such kind of software may cause the production of whole streams of online ads: pop-ups, banners, boxes. What’s more, such programs could get integrated in all of the most widely used browsers, for instance, Chrome, Firefox or Explorer. The particular version we are discussing in this article is WinShare. What’s specific about it you will find out in the article below.

What’s specific about WinShare?

WinShare is a legal advertising piece of software that usually does NO harm to your PC. It could be really annoying, though, as the produced ads can become too many or can start popping up too intensively. This program has nothing to do with the viruses known to users worldwide. It cannot be classified as Ransomware, nor could it be identified as a Trojan. No harmful effects might ever come as a result of the contamination with such a program. It is certain that no Adware itself could ever block any of your files, corrupt them or delete them. Neither could it encrypt them, blackmail you or crash your entire computer system. Nor could WinShare steal any credentials, company secrets or private details about your identity as a whole, your banking and social media accounts. What we know for sure is that this type of ad-producing software could NEVER act as a virus.

In what ways may such programs get distributed?

Most of the versions of Adware developed so far get around inside software bundles. If you have no clue what a bundle represents, it is a compilation of different programs, games, apps plus ad-generating software, such as a type of a browser hijacker or Adware. This entire mixture gets spread for free and any user willing to could download it. Developers put some types of ad-producing programs in bundles so that the users may initially be interested in another program or app from a given bundle, but install its entire content due to being uninformed or even just simply careless. That’s how the majority of the infections with WinShare have taken place. The infected users have just been unaware of the right way to install a bundle. And this is extremely important for anyone’s online safety, no matter whether you install a bundle or a separate software product.

How is it recommended to install a program bundle?

This piece of advice is not only about incorporating the components of a software bundle into your machine; it is a general tip about the installation process as a whole. It is of extreme importance to ensure that the chosen feature of any installer will give you the opportunity to opt out of program components, features and other possible added content. Normally any installer offers several options and there are always at least two – a Default/Automatic/Easy one and a Custom/Advanced one. The proper feature for you is the latter, as it will give you all the opportunities mentioned above.

Who benefits from spreading such software?

Usually, producers and programmers work hand in hand to promote more and more good-quality products in the best possible way. That’s why the mentioned manufacturers pay the web developers to come up with ideas, ensuring more effective advertising and all ad-broadcasting programs are the fruits of this cooperation. As such programs, WinShare included, are not malicious, all advertising activities they perform are legitimate and do not breach any legal rules or regulations. These cooperations are usually based on the pay-per-click scheme, as the developers are most often paid depending on the number of the clicked-on/open pop-up and other advertisements.

Other safety tips

Many other online security tips could be shared but the most important ones are:

• Having a great-quality anti-virus program and installing all the necessary updates to it.
• Enabling your Firewall and a pop-up blocker, though they may not be enough themselves to prevent most of the pop-ups from appearing on your screen.
• Developing a habit for safe surfing. Not all online locations are safe and usually the safest ones have a good image and the not-so-safe ones have a shady one. Just avoid anything that doesn’t appear trustworthy.
• Anything that comes as spam or appears malicious of shady should be avoided – torrents, spam emails, shareware.

The process of removing WinShare

There might be many removal methods and instructions, but we advise you to trust our Removal Guide at the end of this article for that purpose.

WinShare “Virus” Removal

I – Uninstallation

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1. Use the Winkey+R keyboard combination, write Control Panel in the search field and hit enter.
   
2. Go to Uninstall a program under Programs.
   
3. Seek the unwanted software, select it and then click on Uninstall
   1. If you are unable to spot WinShare, search for any unrecognized programs that you do not remember installing on your PC – the unwanted software might disguise itself by going under a different name.

II – Safe mode and revealing hidden files

1. Boot your PC into Safe Mode /link/
2. Reveal hidden files and folders /link/

III – Cleaning all your browsers

1. Go to your browser’s icon, right-click on it and select Properties.
   
2. Go to the Shortcut tab and in the Target make sure to delete anything written after “.exe”.
   
3. Now, open your browser and follow the instructions below depending on whether you are using Chrome, Mozilla or IE.

• Chrome users:

1. Go to your browser’s main menu located in the top-right corner of the screen and select Settings.
   
2. Scroll down, click on Show Advanced Settings and then select Clear browsing data. Just to be sure, tick everything and clear the data.
   
3. Now, in the left pane, go to Extensions and look through all extensions that are integrated within your browser. If you notice any suspicious add-on, disable it and then remove it.
   

• Firefox users:

1. Similarly to Chrome, go to the main menu and select Add-ons and then Extensions.
2. Remove any suspicious browser extensions that you may have even if they do not have the name WinShare on them.

• IE users:

1. Go to Tools and select Manage add-ons.
   
2. Click on all add-on types from the left pane and check if there is anything suspicious in the right panel. In case you find anything shade, make sure to remove it.

IV – Removing Shady processes

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1. Go to your start menu, type Task Manager in the search field and from the results open View running processes with Task Manager.
   
2. Thoroughly look through all processes. The name WinShare might not be there, but if you notice any shady looking process that consumes high amounts of memory it might be ran by the unwanted program.
3. If you spot the process ran by WinShare, right-click on it, open its file location and delete everything in there. Then go back to the Task Manager and end the process.
   

V – DNS check

1. In the start menu search box write View Network Connections and open the first result.
   
2. Right-click on the network connection you are using and go to Properties.
   
3. Select Internet Protocol Version (TCP/IPv4) and click on Properties.
   
4. If Obtain DNS server addresses automatically is not checked, check it.
   
5. Go to Advanced and select the DNS If there is anything in the DNS server addresses field, remove it and click OK.
   
6. Click OK on the rest of the opened windows.